Sir Alex Ferguson might dwell on what would appear a good first-leg European result but, hopefully, he will set aside little time to reflect on the performance. This was a game devoid of attacking intent, lacking creativity for long spells, and ended a poor advertisement for the competition when compared to the more attractive play served up by Arsenal, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur over the last week.

The frustration was that Marseille had appeared there for the taking. Sir Alex had split his front three, with Nani happy enough on the right and Rooney far less so on the left in a position to which he has grudgingly become accustomed to playing in European away games. The powerful Mbia held Berbatov but, while the home side's own three midfielders sat goalside and kept their shape, rarely risking a forward run, United still had one clear pressure point to tap. It came down their right, where Nani illuminated the match whenever able to race past the former United full-back, Heinze. The Portuguese had the beating of his man for pace and the visitors initially offered him a fair supply-line, floating balls beyond the defender for Nani to chase and collect while dragging either Mbia or Diawara out of the centre to intercept.

The winger may not have maximized his obvious advantage in speed over Heinze, but the tactic offered United a threat in what was, for so long, a tedious stalemate. Yet, having used Nani as their main focus of first-half attacks, United ignored the Portuguese for long periods after the break when one thought they might have pressed home this advantage. Deschamps had clearly instructed the Argentinian veteran to get tighter to his man in the second period and, indeed, push further down the flank himself to force Nani to defend and assist O'Shea. Yet the fact Heinze was tighter actually meant there was more space at his back for United to exploit – vast areas that actually went untapped. Instead, Nani was starved of the ball and resorted to charging inside desperately seeking some second-half touches. His non-involvement felt like a waste.

In truth, United's main consolation will be their clean sheet. Without Scholes from the start, as well as both Anderson and Giggs, they had needed real accuracy in their passing to impose themselves on the tie, yet Carrick, Rooney and Fletcher gave the ball away too carelessly. Their distribution was laboured at times and, despite bossing possession, they lacked incision and rarely tested Mandanda in the home goal.

Marseille only raised their own ambition and pace a little after half-time when they sensed their opponents were still struggling to find any rhythm in their play, but United were always comfortable. Only Rémy and Ayew hinted at a threat. Valbuena's involvement from the start may give them some hope for the return leg, but there was nothing in this soulless occasion to suggest that, once thrown into the cauldron that is Old Trafford, Marseille will be able to prosper.